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One in eight are so scared of dental treatment that they avoid going altogether. Birmingham University scientists say a tooth-healing device is just five years away. Their research focuses on stem cells with chameleon-like properties found deep within teeth.

The researchers have shown it is possible to stimulate these cells by zapping them with ultrasound for a few minutes. Once awakened, they start to multiply in number and turn into the cells that make up teeth.

So far the work has been done on cells extracted from rats' teeth but the team, which includes Damien Walmsley, scientific adviser to the British Dental Association, believes it will be possible to heal human teeth in the mouth.

Professor Walmsley, an expert in restorative dentistry, said: 'The utopia is that you'd go to the dentist having had your tooth banged or with some decay and you'd use the cells that are already there to repair it.' He added: 'You may still need a little bit of drilling but you wouldn't need to have as much treatment.'

The research is progressing rapidly and the team hope to be testing a prototype tooth-repair device in tests by 2021.

They hope the technique will provide a more natural way of repairing damaged and decayed teeth (file photo)

Possibilities include ultrasound wands and mouth guard-like devices studded with tiny ultrasounds for home use. Researcher Paul Cooper, a professor of oral biology, said: 'The ultrasounds would activate where needed. People could put in their mouth guard and it would work out which areas need to be activated.'

His colleague Ben Scheven, a stem cell expert said: 'We have just started to appreciate the different stem cells within teeth.'

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: 'We will be watching this technology with interest as it could theoretically allow dentists in the future to treat dental problems by actually re-growing tooth tissue.'